One of the latest TV shows that has been a focus of conversation in the public relations community, especially in crisis communications, has been the ABC show “Scandal.”
Like the title of the show suggests, the main character is based on a crisis communicator who is skilled with handling various situations in the political arena while of course having the element of drama in her personal life. The first season just concluded, and of course there are many questions and story lines that can happen to each of the main characters in the series. The main character, portrayed by actress Kerry Washington, is based on a real crisis communicator from Washington D.C. named Judy Smith.
One thing about dramas about particular professions is that it does present the particular role in a different light than it does in reality. I was actually pretty surprised to see that social media, which has been a growing and rapidly changing tool for both businesses and agencies, was not really addressed in the various crisis situations that were portrayed in the show. My good friend and fellow colleague Hannah let me know when Grey’s Anatomy featured the use of Twitter during one of their surgery shows – so it has been used before in other dramas similar to Scandal.
Crisis communication and traditional media / journalists continue to have a role in the field – but the power of new emerging technologies needs to be acknowledged. Traditional media, journalists, and of course gatekeepers were all presented and accounted for – but what about the changing role of citizen journalists and how they are shifting the way we process news and view this information online? How can the characters in the show use social media in their crisis communication activities specifically? And would the creator/series producers be open to having this as a component to the story line?
These are just a few ideas for season two – and I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. What I would suggest for the creator Shonda Rhimes and the series producers to think about is reaching out to social media and crisis communication professionals about possibly serving as consultants on the series to give their perspective on how they use social media in their workplace, what are some issues and challenges they run into on a daily basis, and provide the show with updated, real-time insight into some of the new emerging platforms being used in the area. I am sure that the crisis communications and social media community would be more than happy to help. Just a suggestion. 🙂
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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